Weekley Investment #10 - Classroom Management

The last weekly investment of the semester is on classroom management!

My summer reading talked a lot about classroom management, rules, and expectations. If you missed in my previous blogs, this book was "What Great Teachers do Differently: 17 Things that Matter Most" by Todd Whitaker. Whitaker emphasizes that a teacher's classroom management sets the stage for student learning. He also says that great teachers focus on expectations while other teachers focus on the rules. The least effective teachers focus on the consequence of breaking the rules.

The best teachers, according to Whitaker, establish clear expectations at the start of the year and follow them consistently as the year progresses. For example, they may have three guidelines:
 - Be repectful
 - Be prepared
 - Be on time.
These teachers expect good behavior and generally that's what they get. "Great teachers focus on the behavior they expect of their students, not on the consequences for misbehavior." 

Some teachers focus on rules. While rules have their place and "school" and "rules" generally go together, they have their drawbacks. Rules mostly focus on undesirable behaviors. Stating what not to do, may actually lead to students doing just what you did not want them to do. Most people, especially our most challenging students, are typically contrary by nature. When someone says not to do something, you may not have even been thinking to do that thing until they said not to.

Consequences are yet another battle. "Rules outline the boundary between the acceptable and the unacceptable." Everyone is familiar with consequences. Take sports for example. Referees do not just point out the rule that was violated, they also assign a penalty. The purpose of consequences is to discourage people from breaking the rules. Whitaker points out that consequences frequently do just the opposite. He says that students are experts at cost-benefit analysis. "If I skip one hour of class, I'll have to go to two hours of detention. Is it worth it? How many of my buddies will be in detention?" Whitaker points out that the fear of the unknown can sometimes be a more powerful deterrent than a list of predetermined consequences.

I really enjoyed Todd Whitaker's book and his reasons for classroom expectations and consequences. In later chapters he also discusses meaning what you say. He reminds teacher that if they are saying the same thing over and over that they may be the problem. Remember to allow yourself time to think about inappropriate behavior before acting on it - and when you act on it, mean it.

Other reminders:
                            - You do not ever win an argument with a student.
                            - Treat students and parents with respect.
                            - Practice the "golden rule"
                            - Do not yell at students (unless in a true emergency.)
                            - Use your "bag of tricks"
                            - Remember the teacher is the variable.

"When a student misbehaves, great teachers have one goal: to keep that behavior from happening again."